I was reading Brian's Turkey post and remembered reading a book (based on scientific facts although fiction) it dealt with a man's last 4 minutes of cognitive thought.

He had been hung in one life and decapitated in another - each death left his head intact, but his body dead and as he slowly faded from no oxygen, his brain still thought and rationalized and slowly he went from thought to a dream like state until nothingness.

It was interesting reading his observations, only things relative to his head could he relate to, he could hear and understand sound and speech and felt trapped like no other claustrophobic you can imagine as he waited for real death to finally come.

I know there have been extreme cases of hypothermia where drowning victims went without oxygen for 30 minutes or more, but the cold slowed down everything and often minimal damage was done.

I said "based on scientific facts" and according to the author, brainwaves continued even though the body was severed in animal testing, he fictionalized accounts of dying and said (in his opinion) the only 3 ways to die immediately are 1) having your head smashed 2) electrocution and 3 a good head-shot that disrupted electronic signals within the brain.

I know I've mentioned Zombie stories where they could "think" during the time of dying and oxygen starvation (nasty Zombies hell-bent on shooting back at you, jumping in a car and running over you, etc..) I just wonder, during heart attack/death, do you lie there thinking "well this sucks" for 4 minutes trying to communicate and having to come to the realization that you are mere minutes from death, or is it over and done with then???

And if you DID have conscious thought for that short time, would you spend it on Fox-hole religion if you are a non believer? Or just prayer that if this IS your time and please open the door cause I'm coming home?

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there are well documented surgical accounts that will make you scream in your head just thinking about them.

2 part anethetics...part 1 keeps you from moving (or screaming) works fine.....part 2 that is supposed to keep you from feeling anything fails. i know some awful machine shop accident stories....but this kind of "silent scream" takes the cake.

at least if your head is chopped off you know you only have a short time (even if it feels long).

"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

I think electrocution is the FASTEST WAY to kill the brain, short circuiting everything out at the first jolt. Is it ugly and does the body look like it is going through Hell, definitely. But I think I'd take lethal injection (if it is just like anesthesia) but electrocution would be up toward the top, especially over firing squad, hanging and beheading - just in case we do hang around a bit.

The last quicky option was having your head squooshed, which might be good for you but the loved ones might have issues with it. I've never had a suicidal thought, but I did fantasize once on a classic way to off one's self: ducktape two grenades to your head, climb a 200 foot water tower, jump and pull the pins - going out like fireworks on the way down. Related to this topic, that might not be a bad way to go :cheer:

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Anything removing your head (to me) would be a very quick way to go. Anything that just stops the heart is slow because your brain is working until it runs out of oxygen. As an electrician, I don't think that is a quick way to go. Whether it stops your heart or burns your body up, it still takes a little bit of time to die.

I hate to admit I've had a couple jolts - 120, 240, 277, and caught a backsurge from a lightning strike (just a little tickle, but unmeasured - I knew I shoulda stopped messing with that wire with the storm getting so close, non fatal, obviously) - nuff said on that - the funny thing was I've had a LOT more pain from a hammered finger than the full-body punch from an electric shock. I think electrocution would be one of those things where the pain doesn't kick in right away, maybe enough time to leave your body for good before you know what hit you.(how morbid)

Beemaster I gotta say I disagree. I saw on more than one occasion people get chocked until passing out. When they came too the last thing they remember is the moment just before losing conscenus, then nothing until the blood flows again. Also I saw an Iraqi get forearm slapped in the neck he was hit so hard it interupted the flow of blood instantly knocking him out. He was down for near 10 mins when he came too he started his conversation at the same point he was at when he got popped even though ten mins had passed. So, that leads me to believe the human brain stops recording, if you will, once the flow is interupted. Therefore I believe if your head was removed from your body the brain would not see for 4 seconds. Or even think of it this way you work in an industrial setting you must have been briefed at one time or another about the dangers of nitrogen whereas a breath of 100% N2 will instantly knock you unconscious because it removes the O2 to the brain instantly.

Whew! Really got me thinking here. You know, it brings the end closer to view, up close and personal to the point that I could almost smell the burning hair. I think I prefur death by donut. Drowning in jelly.

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HELP! I accidently used Drone eggs with the Hopkins method and I got Drag Queens!!!

Ive been hit with 50,000 volts on a couple different occasions. Of course it was with a Taser and the amps are almost non-existent. We had to get zapped with it before we could carry one. It was the longest 5 seconds I can ever remember.

"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag...We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language...And we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."

Actually I'm a bit shocked we haven't heard from Brian D. Bray on this one.

I stick with the idea that anything that destroys the brain (whether a hand granade or 50 thousand volts with tons of amps behind it to short the brain out until cooked) as well as lethal injection works for me.

I'd rather not be decapitated in an auto accident and have my head watching as my body slumps over the wheel, until finally oxygen starved braincells just go psychedelic and fade to black, peaceful eternity.

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There is some great documentation on this from the French revolution. As these two guys were preparing to be decapitated by the guillotine, they had this very conversation. They decided that whom ever got it first, he would start blinking his eyes as long as he could. They say that he blinked his eyes 7 or eight times. Then there was one lady that was decapitated and as the executioner held her head up for all to see, and the crown began cheering and jerring louder, she got an angry look on her face and blushed so that everyone in the crown noticed.They say that her expression lasted about 5 or 6 seconds, and then her face went deathly blank.

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HELP! I accidently used Drone eggs with the Hopkins method and I got Drag Queens!!!